CHICAGO -- As a goaltender, netminder is used to having a lot Tyrique McGhee Jersey of eyes on him. It comes with the position. However, he has probably never been the center of attention the way he was heading into and during Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.After leaving Game 2 early with an apparent injury, everything he did, everything he said and everything that was said about him was followed closely. Every time he had to move during the game was tracked, analyzed and opined on. Such is life when you're one of two starting goaltenders left standing and the Stanley Cup is on the line.But under the bright lights of the Stanley Cup Final, dealing with whatever it is he has been dealing with, Bishop managed to not only survive the game, but get the win as well. The Lightning are now up 2-1 in the series thanks in part to a gutsy effort from their goaltender."I thought he was excellent," coach Jon Cooper said of Bishop after the game.Neither denied there was something wrong with Bishop and that there was some question as to whether he would be able to play. But Bishop felt strongly that the net should be his. "We talked a few times today and made a decision right before the game," Bishop said.That was all Cooper needed to hear, but he also wanted to see it in his goaltender's eyes that he was ready to play. He got that affirmation right before Game 3."There wasn't Hunter Faust Jersey a doubt in his eyes, Cooper said. "Youcanread when guys are sitting there saying, Coach, I'll go for you. Or you can say, give me the net. That kid said, give me the net. Iknew we were going to be OK." Bishop was tested throughout the game, but that was especially true early. He faced an onslaught of 19 shots in the first period alone.After scored for the Lightning at 5:09 of the opening period, the were relentle s in their pursuit of tying the game. The Callahan goal was followed up by this ma sive tilt in po se sion for the period:Per HockeyStats Dot Ca, have 25 shot attempts to 's 3 since Callahan goal. Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) The Blackhawks did manage to score a goal on a shot that deflected off Bishop's glove and into the net to tie the game. But there were so many other opportunities for Chicago to score.The big netminder did have a bit of luck on his side, too, during the overwhelming first-period sequence. The Blackhawks mi sed out on not one, but two open-net opportunities during that 15-minute span in the first period. Marian Ho sa got tripped up and shot a puck wide of the net, with Bishop out of position. Not long after that, also had a look at a partially open net, only to have Bishop barely get a glove on it to deflect it wide.Luck or not, the score was 1-1 after the first period when it could have been much more lopsided."He was huge for us the whole game, Tampa Bay defenseman said of his teams goaltender. "Those 15 minutes in the first period Mykelle McDaniel Jersey after Callahans goal , he was key for us." Bishop also took contact on more than one occasion over the course of the game, leading to greater concern he could be injured further.In the first period, made contact with Bishop's left leg pad. The Lightning netminder seemed to have a hard time getting up, but did get to his feet. In the second period, Bishop was on the receiving end of a hard net drive by , who received a penalty for goalie interference on the play. Bishop lay on the ice for about a minute before finally getting up with the help of a trainer.Cooper said he never considered taking his starting goaltender out. Even as Bishop seemed to be laboring and didn't have his full range of movement, he finished the game with 36 saves. Very few of them were of the highlight variety, but Bishop did his job and gave the Lightning a chance the whole way.I felt good, Bishop said when asked to analyze his game. "The first period, there were probably too many rebounds. As the game went on, I got more comfortable. There was a lot of blocked shots, so it was a good team win."It takes a lot for a goaltender, when everyone in the building can see that he is not 100 percent, to put together the performance Bishop did under the circumstances Justin Jones Jersey he did.I gue s hes OK, Lightning captain said with a laugh. Bish was huge. You need a guy in certain situations where youre not playing your best as a team , you weather the storm." As Bishop stabilized, the Lightning did, too. They outshot Chicago 17-7 in the second period and remained committed to defense in the third period as the Blackhawks pushed again.The goal Bishop allowed early in the third period came off a tremendous pa sing sequence from Chicago that ended with Saad getting a wide-open look from the slot. He's not going to mi s from there even if Bishop is at his very best.The Lightning responded to that goal a mere 13 seconds later to tie the score, opening the door to and s late heroics on the eventual game-winning Chimere Dike Jersey goal. None of that is po sible without Bishop playing as well as he po sibly could under the circumstances.Questions about Bishop's health will persist, but if it's up to him, he's going to be there to see this thing through.Its going to take a lot to not play in a Stanley Cup Final game, personally," he said.